The final day of our tour was a restful one as most of the travel party hung out at the pool with a few venturing to the beach. A few more went on a shopping excursion for a few final memories of Greece.

The entire group gathered for a final dinner just across the street from our hotel and the meal was fantastic. The appertizers just kept coming before the entree which was chicken breast. Then the baklava came out and was quickly devoured. We all witnessed a beautiful sunset which was a fitting end to the final day.

As we wind down the tour, a special thanks must go out to the people who kept us all on time and made the magic happen just like Disney, Jen Ashby and Mary Hile-Nepfel from Basketball Travelers. The logistics of putting a 10-day tour together for a group of over 60 people is enormous and they pulled it off without a hitch.

Also many thanks to the support group who made the trip so much fun and showed their support at the games. Thanks to VT webmaster Damian Salas for his help posting the photos for all of you to enjoy. This tour was also a farewell of sorts for women's basketball trainer Megan Rittler who will be leaving in late July to assume a teaching position on the faculty at Nova Southeastern. Her six years of service to the program will not be forgotten. A big thank you goes out to the Hokie Hardwood Club who does so much through the years to raise the funds necessary to make these tours every four years possible.

I hope these blogs have been both informative and entertaining for all of you as Blog Boy was trying to have you share the experience. The entire tour has been amazing and something none of us will ever forget. Thanks the all of you for taking the time to come along for the ride. Now it's time for the fun part of the long journey home. It's 10 p.m. and just over four hours till breakfast and the trip to the airport.

See you all on our next blog adventure.

We loaded up this morning and checked out of the Marriott Ledra for a long bus tour of the Sournio Cape along the Attica Peninsula. For those of you who have been fortunate enough to take a drive along the Pacific Coast Highway in California, you ain't seen nothing. The drive down the coast has to be absolutely one of the most scenic drives in the world. The highway wrapped its way around the mountainous terrain with a view of several islands and inlets along the way.

The Temple of Posideon was our ultimate destination which sits on the top of a point overlooking the Aegean Sea. I know I keep saying this, but just another incredible view. The entire travel party decided this was the day to take a ton of group shots. I think we took every possible combination of group shot possible, but we especially wanted to recognize that great group of supporters who have just added to this wonderful experience for the team. There is even a photo of Blog Boy's Harem which I will use to prove to my son that the old man still has what it takes to attract a crowd of women.

After the Temple of Posideon, we backtracked north towards Athens and stopped in a small village where everyone scattered for lunch. The restaurants were right on the water and offered a spectacular view while we enjoyed our meal. After checking into the Divani Apollon Palace, we headed to our final game in Greece. The contest was held in a different venue than the first game and lets just say the area surrounding the gym was "sketchy." Check out the photo from outside the building and you'll see what I mean. The contest did not go well for the short-handed Hokies who played with only six players and dropped their second contest to the Greek Senior Selection team. Elizabeth Basham led the Hokies with 10 points while Utahya Drye followed with nine points. Brittany Gordon added eight points followed by Lindsay Biggs and Lakeisha Logan with seven each.

Well, tomorrow is our final day in Greece and most of the group will probably spend the day relaxing at the pool or the small beach across the street. There are several strategies making the rounds as how to best handle the 3 a.m. departure Sunday morning for the trek back to Blackspatch. Some say they will just stay up and sleep on the two-hour flight to Frankfurt, Germany followed by the eight-hour monster trip to Washington, D.C. Others have a plan of maybe taking a mid-afternoon power nap, then staying up until departure time while others plan on just going to bed early. We will bus from D.C. to Blacksburg and anyway you cut it, it will end up being a very long day to get home. Thank goodness Monday is the Memorial Day holiday.

There is a final travel party dinner tomorrow night so I'll try to send a few photos of that as well as from around the hotel, then post a final blog once I get home. Best of luck to the softball team against Michigan tomorrow and many of the group over here are trying to find ESPN somewhere to watch the game. Enjoy your holiday weekend.

Much like our first day in Greece, I'll let the pictures do most of the work on today's cruise to three Greek islands. Let me first say that I now know what hurricane force winds must feel like because on the top deck of the ship, it was amazing how hard the wind was blowing.

We departed the hotel at 7:15 a.m. for Piraeus port to begin the excursion. Once we were all onboard, the ship set out for our first destination, Poros, the smallest of the three islands we would visit on this day. In Poros, we viewed the clock tower and strolled along the boardwalk looking in the various shops and also at some of the incredible yachts which were docked at the marina. We only had about 45 minutes in Poros before returning to the ship so it was a very quick first island stop.

After returning to the ship, the english speaking visitors were the first to eat lunch in the dining room. And by lunch, I mean not so much. Let's just say we couldn't wait to get to the next stop and grab a bite and leave it at that.

Hydra was the next stop and is an island where no motorized vehicles are allowed. It was a stunning place with lots of shops and restaurants and a marina filled with incredible yachts. You can take a look at one of them in particular in the photo gallery. While on Hydra, Laura Haskins, Brittany Gordon and Amber Hall all went for horse ride through the village. Laura and Amber looked to be having a good time, but BG had a look of sheer terror on her face. Some of the team members later took a dip in the ocean before returning to the ship.

The final stop was Aegina, the largest of the three islands on the tour and it is known for pistachio nuts so of course some of us had a few. Blog Boy purchased a couple of bags of what I think was chocolate covered pistachios. One of the bags had no shot of making it back to the ship and was quickly devoured. I highly recommend the pistachios should you ever visit Greece.

The trip back to Athens took a little over an hour and the wind was even worse on the return trip. However, the ship was pretty steady through it all and no one became ill. Former Tech player Jenny Root kept trying to feed a flock of seagulls (the birds not the band) near the ship but to no avail. After docking, we loaded the bus and headed back to the Marriott Ledra where everyone scattered for dinner.

Tomorrow we check out of this hotel at 10:30 a.m. and take a tour of the Sounio Cape along the Attica Peninsula before checking in to the Divani Apollon Palace which is located on the beach in Athens. This will be our final location before departing Greece Sunday morning for the long trip home.

The Hokies return to the court Friday night at 6 p.m. to face the Greek Senior Selection team a second time. Hopefully the second meeting will be better than the first one on Tuesday. The injury situation is not much better and I guess with assistant coach Stacy Cantley now out after injuring her knee in Tuesday's contest, you could say it is worse. The plan is to go with the same six as on Tuesday and maybe one or two of the injured can get in for a few minutes. It's all about the big picture and everyone needs to be ready for the individual late summer and early fall practice sessions. Before you know it, it will be October and preseason practice will be upon us, so the most important thing at this point is to have everyone healthy by then.

I owe two thank you's to Jamie Meyer. First for providing a few photos from the Wednesday evening dinner, and most importantly, for lending me a cap before today's tour so the top of my head could fade from bright red.

That'll do it for another day. I'll try to sneak in a blog once we get checked in to our hotel tomorrow and then another following the game. If not, I'll have a full report of the day's activities tomorrow night.

Our third day in Athens was a free for the team and supporters to strike out on their own and either tour the city or just relax at the hotel. After five days of traveling, touring and playing a couple of games, this was a much needed time out. Blog Boy took the day to just hang out at the hotel and rest his swollen typing fingers. Note to self: Don't sit by the pool in open sunlight without a cap. The thin spot on noggin (unfortunately getting thinner by the day) now resembles the Planet Mars.

At 7 p.m. the entire travel party loaded the two buses and headed to 4 Brothers, a restaurant located on the water. There must have been 15-20 restaurants located side-by-side in this area and each had a very different look, but all were open air. As the sun set behind the mountains, the hillside became illuminated in lights from restaurants, clubs and houses. It was a truly beautiful setting.

Now for the dinner. Let me just say I didn't have this many courses in college. First was the fried cheese, then a dish I had never had before which was rice wrapped in a leafy substance and for the life of me I can't remember the name, but it was good. New assistant coach Angela Crosby took one look and said "I don't think so." Next was the fired calamari followed by huge shrimp to conclude the opening act. We then received the main course which was a choice of snapper, pork chop, chicken, or hamburger steak. Most at my table went for the fish and it was pretty good. The meal concluded with dessert and several diners had baklava, which looked outstanding, however your loyal blogger got the Heisman on that one.

The ride back to the hotel on the team bus was interesting to say the least. Our tour guide may have enjoyed one too many adult beverages and was giggling while trying to give us instructions for tomorrow's travel plan. Hopefully she will be recovered by tomorrow or we may need to call on Posiedon to rescue us from the Aegen Sea. All in all it was a relaxing and entertaining day.

Stacy Cantley update: Stacy was spotted at the rooftop pool catching some rays with an ice bag on her right knee which she injured in yesterday's game. She was in good spirits, but then she always is, and appears to be getting along okay. Stacy wanted to pass along to Momma Cantley that she if fine. Trust me mom, Megan and the Doc are taking very good care of your little girl.

Well, tomorrow will be an exciting day as we depart the hotel at 7:15 a.m. for a trip to Piraeus Port where will will begin a cruise to the islands of Poros, Hydra, and Aegina. This will be an all day affair and we are not scheduled to return to port until just before sundown. The weather has been fantastic, but a little warm, so the trip should be very enjoyable. Now if I can just find a ball cap to cover the Red Planet.

Goodnight from Athens.

It was not a good night for the Hokies as they dropped a 60-39 game to Greek Senior Selection team. Tech, due to numerous injuries, had only six players available for the contest and assistant coach Stacy Cantley had to dress for the game.

Prior to the trip, Shani Grey injured her right knee which will require surgery once the Hokies return to the United States. A.J. Lemaitre is still in the early stages of rehab on her knee following surgery March 26 while Amber Hall and Eleanore Brentnall are battling back injuries. Brittany Cook, who led Tech with 23 points against Palestrina (Italy) last Saturday, developed soreness in her left knee and was held out of the contest. Unfortunately, the team suffered yet another injury in the game when Stacy injured her knee in the third quarter and had to be helped off the floor. Megan and Doc McGinley don't think it is an ACL injury and she will be evaluated once we get home. I will say Stacy was a real gamer while she was in the contest.

Lakeisha Logan was the only player in double figures for Tech with 11 points followed by Lindsay Biggs with nine points and three treys. Utahya Drye pulled down 10 rebounds while Biggs was credited with seven boards. Laura Haskins had five assists in the contest.

Since the Hokies are so banged up, Wednesday's game has been cancelled and the final contest will be at 6 p.m. on Friday. Tomorrow is pretty much a free day so we'll see what develops blog and photo wise. Until then, have a great rest of your day.

Our first full day in Athens was highlighted by a tour of Ancient Greece. The first stop was the Olympic Stadium. The three-sided stadium was built in 1896, for the first of the modern-day Olympic Games and was renovated for the 2004 Games where the fencing contests took place as well as the end of the Marathon. This stadium should not be confused with the modern Olympic Stadium in the north of the city which was the center stage of the 2004 Olympics.

The next stop was the Temple of Zeus, one of the largest temples in the ancient world, which was dedicated to the god of all gods, Zeus. The initial construction took place in 515 BC, but was not completed for 700 years in AD 131 under Roman Emperor Hadrian. Today, 16 of the original 104 marble columns remain.

The highlight of the day was a trip to the Acropolis which dominates the city's skyline. The climb up on a warm day was pretty tough, especially since most of the path is made of slick marble. The effort was more than worth it for an incredible view of Athens from all directions. The Acropolis includes the Acropolis Museum and four sacred buildings, all from the fifth century BC. The Temple of Athena, Nike, Propylaea, Erechtheion temple, and the Parthenon are the structures we were able to visit. The Parthenon is the largest structure with massive columns which are currently being renovated.

Once back down in the city, the group was turned loose for shopping and lunch on their own. Some of us witnessed the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier. Two guards stand motionless for an hour at a time with the changing occurring at the bottom of each hour.

Well, now its back to business with the first game against the Greek Senior Selection team which should be a real challenge. The Hokies are a little banged up and today's opponent swept three games from Oklahoma last week on the Sooners tour of Italy/Greece. I'll have a brief report and a few pics once we return from the game.

Welcome to Athens, Greece, the self proclaimed birthplace of Western Civilization. We had 6 a.m. breakfast at the hotel then departed for the airport for a 10 a.m. flight. Some of us thought that might be a little early, but the lines at check-in and at security were unreal. Our flight took off about 30 minutes late for the two hour trip to Athens.

The view of several of the Greek islands was outstanding and the city is nestled in the mountains. Some of the terrain near the ocean was much like you would see along the Pacific Coast Highway in Californina. The mountains literally come down to the shoreline. At the airport, our travel party grew by one as strength and conditioning coach Jamie Meyer joined us after attending a wedding over the weekend back in the U.S.

The airport, which was opened in 2002 in anticipation of the 2004 Olympic Games, was a 40 minute drive to our hotel near central Athens. We are located at the Marriott Athens Ledra which will be our home until Friday when we move to coast for the final two days of the tour. Let me just say my room has a king size bed which is far cry from the daybed I had in Rome. The remainder of the day is free as the group will head to Plaka, an area of shops and restaurants. By the way, we have not eaten since the 6 a.m. breakfast so we are all looking forward to dining on some fine greek cuisine.

I'll have a few pics later from the Plaka excursion but plenty more tomorrow as we tour Ancient Athens to see the Acropolis, the Temple of Zeus, the Olympic Stadium and many more sights. After the tour, it will be business time again with a 6 p.m. tip for the first of three games against the Greek Senior Selection team.

Thanks to VT Athletics Department Webmaster Damian Salas for his help in posting the photos online. Now off to find some baklava.

Today was a free day for the travel party on our last day in Rome. Everyone took off in small groups to explore the city on their own. I toured around with fellow support staff members Megan Rittler (trainer), Sarah McGinley (team doctor) and Katie Rybacki (manager).

Let me begin by saying we must have walked 10 miles but with everything there was to see it was not too bad. Our first stop was the Spanish Steps which are usually covered in flowers, but as luck would have it, not on this day. Next up was Trevi Fountain which was amazing and we ran into some of the team members. Of course, we all had to toss a coin over our shoulders into the fountain.

Our next stop was the Pantheon Roman Temple, built by architect emperor Hadrian 2,000 years ago. The huge domed roof houses the tomb of Raphael and has a hole in the center to allow sunlight in. On the marble base floor, there is a circular area roped off where the rain hits the floor and drains into two small holes. Just another engineering wonder here in Rome and to think this was constructed over 2,000 years ago.

From the Pantheon, we passed through Piazza Narvona which is a huge area surrounded by more amazing buildings with a few more incredible fountains. Artist display their works for sale in this plaza on a daily basis. Now we just didn't sightsee the entire time because we had to eat. We dined at a sidewalk cafe, of which there are hundreds of here, and enjoyed some great pizza. Later we stopped for gelato which is ice cream but not what we are used to in America. Doc McGinley, using her years of medical training, described gelato as in between yogut and ice cream. It was excellent as I enjoyed a chocolate/caramel combo on a waffle cone to the delight of my taste buds. Megan made a good observation as we walked back to the hotel that every block there was someone eating gelato. If I worked in downtown Rome I would have to buy larger clothes on a montly basis.

Well now I'm back at the hotel relaxing before dinner tonight as I continue to add five pounds a day. Tomorrow is an early 6:30 a.m. departure for the airport for the two hour flight to Athens, Greece. The good thing is, unlike the trip to Rome, we have a free day to do things on our on after checking into the hotel, instead of hitting the ground running as we did on the first day in Rome. The next game will be on Tuesday and all games in Greece have been changed to 6 p.m. which is 11 a.m. back in Blackspatch. We will play all three games against the Greek Senior team which is currently playing games in preparation for the Olympic Games. They will have a different mix of players every game who are trying to make the final cut so the competition should be pretty stiff.

That's it from Rome, now on to Greece. See you there on Monday.

I'm interrupting the Rome/Athens tour blog to update all Tech fans concerning a historic event. On Saturday night, former women's basketball player Kerri Gardin became the first Hokie to play in an WNBA game. Gardin, who has been playing in Europe since her Tech career ended, not only made the Connecticut Sun regular season roster, but started in the Suns season-opening victory. Kerri had eight points, five rebounds three blocks, one steal, and one assist in her debut. Congratulations to Kerri from everyone here in Rome and we will follow her for the rest of the season.

The Hokies travelled to the small, mountain town of Palestrina for their first action. Palestrina is about an hour from Rome in the mountains. We had to go up a very narrow road once we were near Palestrina traffic had to actually back up one time just to let us pass.

Upon arrival, we had to park the bus and walk up the street to the gym which was like a small high school facility. On the tour we are playing by FIBA rules which means four-10 minute quarters, a 24-second shot clock, and the trapazoid foul lane.

It took the Hokies a guarter to get their game legs back as they quickly fell behind 13-2. Once things settled down, Tech went on to a 75-62 victory. Brittany Cook led the way with 23 points, nine rebounds and five assists followed by Lindsay Biggs with 14 points and Utahya Drye with 12 points nine rebounds. Brittany Gordon pulled down eight rebounds as the Hokies dominated on the glass. Tech nailed 11-of-12 free throws in the win and hit six treys with Cook and Biggs nailing three each.

A special thanks goes out to the members of Hokie Nation on the trip who provided the entertainment between quarters and at halftime. That's it for today. Time to go experience a Saturday night in Rome.

Following breakfast at the hotel, we loaded the bus for a tour of Vatican City. Our first stop was a tour of the Vatican Museum which was extremely crowded. The travel party was spilt into two groups for the tour and we met up later and amazingly did not lose anyone. The museum contains some of the world's greatest paintings and sculptures and our tour guide did an excellent job of explaining the history behind many of them as the tour progressed.

We next entered St. Peter's Basilica which contains unbelievable architecture and several members said they could not believe they were standing in the same place they had seen on television so many times. Next we entered one of the most amazing places on the face of the earth, the Sistine Chapel to view the work of Michaelangelo (Image 28 in the photo gallery from day three). Unfortunately, the photos will not replace seeing the chapel in person and this is one of the places everyone should visit if they have the opportunity.

Once outside we entered St. Peter's square where the Pope holds mass for the public on Wednedays and Sundays. The sheer size of the square and the surrounding structures was amazing.

After a short break for lunch, we headed back to the hotel and will head out for the 6 p.m. contest against Palestrina. I'll have some highlights and a few photos from the game once we return to the hotel.

Where or where do I begin on this first blog from Europe? We have a huge group with us on the trip. The team travel party includes 24 people with the supporters numbering 37, so there are a lot of Hokies across the pond. The journey began with a 5:30 a.m. departure Thursday by bus to Greensboro, N.C for the team party. I mean, seriously, 5:30 a.m.!!!! Most of the support group met us in Chicago while a few took a totally separate route and arrived in Rome at almost the same time as the main group. So the bus trip was uneventful, but we're still working on the flying to Chicago in the middle of the country from Greensboro only to fly right BACK over on the way to Frankfurt, Germany. The flight was over eight hours and we did not depart O'Hare airport until 2:30 p.m. local time or about 10 hours after leaving Blacksburg.

The Frankfurt flight was smooth and most of the group slept along the way and watched some in-flight movies between brief periods of sleep and walking around the plane just to keep the circulation flowing. However, once off the plane in Frankfurt the stuff legends are made of began to happen. I was not witness to this, but heard several different accounts of the "security" procedures at the scanners. Apparently Dianne Santolla, women's basketball secretary, and former Tech stand-out Jenny Root, received a "pat down" that would have made a San Quentin inmate blush. I told them it was just their way way of saying welcome to our country.

The flight down from Frankfurt to Rome was only 90 minutes but since we had been going for 24 hours or so at this point, fatigue had taken its toll of the group. Upon finally landing in Rome the group perked up somewhat and loaded a double-decker bus to begin an immediate tour of ancient Rome including the Colosseum, Forum and a few other venues.

Our tour guide gave us a good description of what we were about to see and detailed the rest of our day. The Colosseum was unbelievable as we received a guided tour from Fabio. No, not that Fabio!!! It was amazing to see how such a massive structure was still standing after being completed in 80 AD. The Colosseum has endured numerous earthquakes, pollution and vandalism and still is a most imposing sight. The structure seated 50,000 fans and, due to 80 gates, could be totally evacuated in 10 minutes. All our major sports venues began with the Colosseum except that the suites and all attendees were admitted free, an unheard of concept in today's sport's venues.

After the Colosseum, we strolled, limped, okay, crawled through a tour of the Roman Forum, a former marketplace that was the political, commercial and social heart of ancient Rome. Today it is now a pile of marble fragments, columns, and floor layouts, but a few of the structures still remain in part. Again, it is amazing to believe these massive buildings were constructed so long ago and with such detail.

We finally arrived at the Mediterraneo Hotel in downtown Rome around 4 p.m. local time or 10 a.m. in Blacksburg. The first shower in over 24 hours was welcome, but I had a few issues with my room. First, I had no idea how to turn the lights on. You hit the switch and nothing. Finally, I tracked down a bell hop in the hallway who told me I had to put the card in a reader just inside the door. I did this, and sure enough, there was light. I pulled the card out only to have the lights go back out as I walked across the room. I discovered that you must leave your room card in the reader to keep the lights on. Next I plugged in my power converter since everything here is 220 volts, turned on the power strip and bang, blew out the receptacle. So the power strip bit the dust and after a visit from the electrician I am good to go. For now anyway.

Oh, before I forget, the exchange rate is horrible right now in dollars for euros For example, $200 dollars will only get you 125 euros so things are a bit pricey for Americans in Europe these days. The evening ended with an entertaining dinner at an Italian restaurant. Imagine that, we ate Italian on our first night in Rome. The pasta was wonderful, the tiramisus for dessert was as expected, and the entertainment was outstanding as the musicians played a few times during dinner and got a few of the group to join in. I'll try to post a few pics from dinner tomorrow.

Well, the entire group could use a good night's sleep as tomorrow is an early start at 8:15 for a morning tour of the Vatican including St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. The team will grab lunch and return to the hotel before taking to the floor for a 6 p.m. game against Palestrina. The tip will be noon Blacksburg time and there will be no live stats available due to the lack of internet access at the venue. I'll have a complete game report Saturday as well as pics from both the game and the tour of Vatican City.

I apologize for this blog being so long, but there was a lot to catch you up on once we finally stopped and settled down. Rome, and this blog, were not built in a day. Until tomorrow, arrivederci.